Eternal darkness for a lost soul
by Jaestopher
Summary: Matt randomly meets a girl while on a case, but things go horribly wrong when she's caught in the middle of it. First fanfic . Excuse my first chapter - It gets better later on in the story . MattxOC
1. Effy 1

Effy

Two weeks ago my school finished for the summer holidays. This meant I had six weeks to waste doing nothing since there was no transport around my village, my mum's on holiday and my one and only friend had to set time to equally see me and her 300 other facebook friends.

As mentioned, my mum decided to go on holiday for the majority of my time off school, big surprise there. I wasn't exactly the greatest of company even on a good day. She went to Mexico, looking for an escape from all the memories our house brings I guess. Did I mention my dad died? I figured my mum's made up for the loneliness by going out to clubs and trying to make herself wanted by all willing guys within a 10 metre radius. Either that or she's a great, big slut, which isn't the case.

I'm not exactly happy that she chose to sleep with random guys in the wake of my father's death, but I'm a lot happier about her decision than mine.

I became emotionless. Dead to the world.

I never smiled, showed enthusiasm, wanted to do anything. I did what others told me to do because I wouldn't have acted otherwise; I would just have just sat on the spot looking at nothing, feeling nothing, doing nothing. It's not as if I _wanted _to become this numb towards everything, I just did, more of a defence mechanism than anything, or so I have repeated to myself enough to believe. I've never gone to see anyone about this; my mum just gave me her anti-depressants and hoped that I would give in to their power.

I was really close to my dad, you see; he was the one I always talked to, always looked forward to seeing at the end of the week when he didn't need to work anymore. When he died, I admit I couldn't take the pain, and so I locked away my feelings so I couldn't feel it anymore.

I haven't really bothered about my appearance since thenr. I now wear the first items of clothing that I find, normally plain t-shirts and jeans, unless my mum bothers to tell me to wear something else; even when these rare moments occur, I still look just as plain as the day before. My hair's a dull reddish-brown colour, I got that from my mum, it was shoulder length and chopped but it's now grown out to the middle of my back with no style or shape, just a wavy mess; I should probably get it trimmed, but hell, what would be the point? S'not as if anyone would notice anyway. My eyes, dark brown, as told by many are my father's eyes. Not as if I needed a bigger them to remind me even more that he wasn't around.

Every day since the beginning of the holidays I had nothing to do, so of course I did nothing with myself but be a couch potato and watch TV.

Two days in, after my mum went to Mexico, was no different. I sat around, occupying myself with housework and taking care of the dog. 5pm, and I found myself watching another replayed episode of Friends. I didn't find many of the jokes amusing but I think I could have quoted the whole episode off by heart if I was to bother; it gets repeated too many times on the same channel for my liking. Ten minutes into the second episode and I fell asleep.

A cold wind flew past me from my right hand side but I didn't want to turn and see, a familiar feeling crept over my skin causing my arm hair to rise in awareness to the situation. "_What's going on?" _I yelled, feeling my voice crack with fear. I couldn't see anything, and it scared me, where was I? There was no pressure on my eyes, so I knew I wasn't blindfolded. I normally have the same recurring nightmare, but it is now, for some reason, changing into something completely different? Nothing new has happened, I haven't thought of anything different. What is going on?

"_As if you don't know" _a deep, echoing voice called from the darkness_._

_Where is that coming from? "Who are you?"_I asked. I just noticed my voice was a little higher than usual, it sounded just like when I was 5 years ol… Oh no, this is not good.

Hey, short first chapter, i know. It'll get longer as the story goes on.

It's my first fanfic so go easy on me =] Reviews would be muchly appreciated.

Disclaimer for the death note characters and stuff (Y)

Have a good day =]


	2. Matt 1

Matt

"Run, goddamn it, run" I chanted, running like a maniac down the street, this wasn't good. First Mello goes AWOL on me because I'd rather play Mario Kart than go on patrol for the new case, and _then_ I get caught snooping around outside the warehouse after getting a text (from Mello of all people!) asking me how things are going. Mello is never going to hear the end of this, well, until I get started on Mario Kart again.

Running is something I have never taken interest in, at all, so this is definitely not the kind of situation I was hoping to get into anytime soon.

I think there's about three guys behind me, guns too I'm thinking. I sighed. Not good, not good at all.

'BANG!' Uh oh, not a good sound. I dived into the bushes, crawling through the crops slowly so that they didn't see my movements. The sound of rapid gunfire rang through the air, '_HA!_' I thought, '_Try catch me now!_'. Those meatheads had no idea where I was, and to be honest, neither did I, but _anything_ was better than running.

I think I crawled for about five minutes, and I must say, the feeling of the soil under my knees is _not_ nice. ' _It just _has_ to be safe now' _I thought, getting a little pissed at the situation. Slowly, turning around to what I think is the road I was manically running down, lifting my head so that I could only just see above the crops, I looked for the three meatheads that were shooting at me.

Nothing… An empty road; no men, no guns, no trouble. I guess I should be pretty happy, but they left while I was _still_ crawling on all fours. How _dare _they! Urgh, whatever, at least they aren't on my tail anymore. Damn this is too troublesome.

'_I really need a cigarette' _I thought, checking my pockets lazily until my hands rested on a small box in the back pocket of my, now dirty, jeans. I flicked up the lid and pulled one out one-handed, lighting it with my other hand which now held a small, red lighter. As the cigarette slowly took in the flames, smoke arose from it, blessing me with the faint smell of addiction, how long has it been since my last smoke?

As I inhaled the cigarette, I took it upon myself to check out my appearance. It seems my new jeans are ruined, well, at least my top's good for another wear.

Walking to the road took at lot less time that crawling away from it. I stopped on the road, turning towards the opposite direction of the warehouse, heading for the village.

Taking a slow walk through the village I decided to crash at some random house; first house to have lights out and unlocked is the winner. First door? No. Second door? No. Maybe this will take longer than expected.

House number 67, lights off and an unlocked door, I grinned a little at my discovery. I put out my cigarette on the wall and put my hand on the gold door handle.

As I was stepping inside I noticed the intricate design of the woodwork on the stair banister to the right of me. Someone's a little bit into 18th century designs. Whilst rolling my eyes, I took a small step forward, trying not to hit a squeaky step. I slowly approached the first door on the left, trying to find the living room so I could crash on the sofa.

A kitchen, of course I wouldn't be that lucky first time. The kitchen's a lot more modern than the hallway; gloss-finished counters that are a dark blue, wide open space, breakfast bar. How on earth did they get that design in here and make it look so normal? I shut the door as quietly as I had opened it, moving on to the door that was directly in front of it when I entered the house.

The door decided to squeak a little but not enough to wake anyone in the house. Walking forward a little more I saw a TV light being projected on to the walls, not a very good sign but people forget to turn TV's off all the time. Carrying on a little I noticed a still figure on the sofa, a teenage girl?

I stole across the small space separating me from the sleeping girl on the couch. She's sprawled over the edges of the sofa and her face is a little contorted as if she's having a bad dream. She looks like she's about 5ft 4, not that it matters, and wearing faded jeans with a light blue t-shirt that's slightly crumpled where she's gripping it with her left hand. Her hair, being a light shade of mahogany, has fanned out over the arm of the couch and spread over her face in a way that makes her features seem that much more beautiful.

I wonder why I'm taking so much interest in this one girl, I've never noticed them like this before, I've called a couple 'cute' but that's as far as it's gone, but never 'beautiful'. She's not awake either, but yet I'm so fascinated by the sight of this one being, I'm almost willing to wake her up for her deep slumber just so I can know her name. Damn, Mello's going to end up trying to take a shot at me with his relatively new Wesson PPC again.

"Hey there" I cooed, moving some of the hair out of her eyes almost affectionately. "Doesn't look like your dream's going too well, does it?"

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Wahey, second chapter =] i think i'm doing pretty so far, with it being my first fanfic and everything

Disclaimer: I don'ts be owning Death Note (y)

Now i'm off to get some pizza =D


	3. Mello 1

Mello

'_Everything going well on patrol? You shouldn't whine so much over a game, you know, spending one hour away from it is _not_ going to kill you.' _Send. Ten minutes after Matt went on his patrol was the perfect chance to send him a text message, I didn't want him moaning and perhaps missing some kind of crucial detail that might end this case.

Although, I don't get why that boy is so reluctant to do any work, even when he volunteers to help out with the cases.

After putting my feet up on the wooden table in front of me, I relaxed back into my chair, digging the tips of my fingers into the soft fabric of the arms. This case is too boring; we need to take action, and soon, otherwise it'll take too long and we'll miss our chance. Damn Near - telling me what to do again, just because _his_ plan seemed more 'rational'.

What mafia gang wants to come to a stupid little village like Newtoft anyway? We don't even know if there _is_ a gang here, just following an apparent 'hunch'. There's absolutely nothing to help further our case by sitting around and watching, or patrolling the place. The only people we ever see near the warehouse are young adults, not wanting to be caught smoking by their parents, or something. If only Near would let me go in and search the place. Sigh. Stupid albino brat, always thinking he's right. During one of these cases, something bad is going to happen just because he wanted to sit tight and see what happens next.

I need chocolate.

**********************

"FUCK! Where the hell is Matt?" Thirty minutes late, this isn't like Matt, he would have come straight back to the flat at the slightest opportunity.

"Now is not the time for yelling, Mello" The monotonous voice replied to my hysterics. "Eat some chocolate and calm down, unless Mello would like to assist me in stacking these blocks?"

"Like fuck I would, and when the fuck do you get off ordering me around like that?" I had calmed a little, but not enough to stifle my concern for Matt. "I'm going to look for him, do what you want, just don't touch my chocolate"

Near was mumbling something as a reply, but all I heard was the words 'trust' and 'Matt'. Lucky for his face I've been trying to keep my anger under control recently.

Whilst grabbing my leather jacket and some small binoculars (you never know) as well as shoving a couple of packets of Hershey's kisses into the pockets, I simply glared at Near, making sure no smartass comments follow me as I storm out the door.

Driving to Newtoft was taking a shorter time than usual, this could be because I was driving at about 110mph, but I wasn't chancing anything when Matt's life could be on the line.

After parking the car on the busiest street I could find, I ran down the road towards the warehouse as fast as I could manage. Half way down the street, I noticed marks in the road that looked a lot like when a bullet ricochets.

Stopping slowly so that I didn't trip, I turned around to examine the road. The dents were still a little warm to the touch, and therefore freshly made. It seems as though the one that shot the gun was aiming for somebody's feet but apparently missed. There's a great probability that the person being shot was running towards the main part of the village.

A little further down the road was a strand of hair, and this didn't help my growing concern for Matt's wellbeing.

The piece of hair was a dark, but vibrant red, and unfortunately for me, the same colour as Matt's hair. Not only was it a strand of hair from _Matt's_ head, but no doubt it was _him_ running from the gunshots.

I was starting to run again, but this time towards the village with every intention of finding Matt alive within the next hour. I ran straight for the centre of Newtoft, nearly tripping over gravel as I took a shortcut through somebody's garden. I quickly counted the houses in order to find the one that was directly in the middle, so that i could get the best view of the whole estate.

I ran up the pathway of the chosen house and made a jump for it's porch. As soon as my hands made contact with the brick, I swung my leather-clad legs to the side and hooked them over the edge of the said porch. I pathetically clung to the porch, trying to heave myself up. _'I am so glad Near didn't offer to come with me this time' _I thought, still desperately clinging to the edge of the porch.

Eventually, after a few failed attempts at climbing, I made it onto the porch, readying myself to jump up to the window sill.

Surprisingly enough, I managed to climb onto the roof without falling off once, pathetically flailing about, maybe, but not falling off. I couldn't stop grinning at my achievement _'let's see Near try to do _that_'. _After realising that I had momentarily lost focus on the main objective, I grabbed the miniature binoculars from my jacket and scanned across the western side of Newtoft.

There was no sign of Matt _anywhere_.

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Urm.. wahey, third chapter done =D

Tell me if you think i've maybe missed something out, okies? =]

You all know i don't own Death Note anyway so disclaimerage (y)

'Moff to start on the next chapter =]


	4. Effy 2

Effy

I was about to scream as my back was torn open by a cold steel object, purposefully slow and excruciatingly painful, sinister laughing echoing around me like a horror movie on surround sound TV. However, as my mouth opened as a reaction to the pain, all the traces of lacerations, and feelings of pain left my body, even the surround-sound laughter had stopped.

In its place, was warmth.

To be truthful, I don't remember ever experiencing this kind of warmth before. Normally heat was there to just warm up my skin to stop me form shivering throughout the day, but this, this was something different. This warmth I felt around me seemed to completely overlook my skin, and simply dove deeper through me as if my supposed 'protective layering' was non-existent.

I didn't smile at the new feeling, my eyes still closed and the memory of pain remained, but yet I let comforting warmth override my train of thought, allowing it to almost take the train completely off the track.

Soon after my acceptance of the new heated sensation, a velvet sound cut through my blissful silence. The sound was distant, but audible enough to know there was another person included in my newly formed dream. As a natural reaction to the strange voice, my eyes flew open, scouting for the source of the soothing sound that had penetrated my ear drums.

The visual side of my dream had gone from pure darkness to immense light. The sudden change almost blinded me, but since it was a dream, I knew that such a thing was not possible, so I kept my eyes fully open, waiting for my eyes to adjust to the change of scenery.

"Doesn't look like your dream's going too well, does it?" the symphonic voice called out in an almost mocking tone, but it sounded like more of an observation to me. My line of thought seemed to follow mocking idea anyway. '_Well of _course_ not, being assaulted by the person you thought you could trust isn't exactly _pleasant.'

"What makes you think that?" was my only reply, trying to keep the venom out of my voice, as I did not want to seem impolite. I was listening more intently now, albeit my sudden bitterness, waiting for the response whilst managing to ignore the comfortable heat still passing through my body.

Then, I heard a sound that made my heart flutter, it was definitely the man that had talked to me just moments ago, but the said noise was not words. It was laughter, no, it seemed more like a chuckle, but the so-called fluttering did not feel as if it wanted to stop anytime soon. "A talker, eh? Alright, I guess I'll play along" He chuckled again, sending my heart into a frenzy, my heartbeat thumping so harshly against my chest that it was almost noticable to the naked ear.

'_A talker?… Play along?… What is he on about?'_ I must admit, I'm confused by pretty much everything this guy has said so far.

Unfortunately, the words 'Who are you?' forced their way through my lips before I could think of a reply to the stranger currently occupying my dream.

I realized at that moment that I hadn't been taking any notice of the surrounding area, the intense bright light had faded and a light mist had taken its place. The mist was a pale pink and was swirling around me, giving the effect that I was in the eye of a hurricane. The heat running through my body had settled also, now it felt as if I was wrapped in a fluffy towel that had just come off the radiator.

I cut my observations short, still waiting intently for the reply to my question, but it seemed as if no reply was coming my way. I kept myself quiet, just in case.

"Can you keep a secret?" He sounded amused, obviously taking this as a joke, but his question stumped me. For a moment I actually questioned myself if I really could, but that thought was quickly abandoned.

"What makes you think I can't?" I'm not exactly sure what had made me say that, spur of the moment I'm guessing. I only talk back with that sardonic tone when I feel unsure or not safe, but I was in a dream and this person's presence made me feel entirely safe, so why I replied like that, I didn't know.

There seemed to be no answer to my retort. I realized at that moment that his question was not as joking as it had sounded, he was serious and i had answered indirectly. I began to panic, i didn't want him to leave me alone whilst still dreaming, the silence is no longer comfortable. A thought flashed through my mind... My dream could turn back to the way it was at the beginning, and i don't want that even more so than the silence.

Perhaps a moment too long, i followed on from my last reply with "I'm just kidding! Of course i can keep a secret as simple as your name. Hey, I'll even tell you my true name in return. Deal?" Telling him my own real name was the only way i could think to keep his presence around me. My little act of desperation may cost me in the future, but right now there's a large chance that i may be worth it.

"Your own true name?" It was a distant sound, but i was able to pick it up. Relief washed through me at the sound of his voice, although It sounded as though he was talking to himself more than asking me to reaffirm what i had said, so i decided to keep quite for that moment until he finally addressed me. "I think" pausing slightly "you just might have a deal, kid"


	5. Matt 2

Matt

I just realised that for the past five minutes I have been conversing with an unconscious teenage girl— and actually enjoying it. The point of which I figured this out was when she decided to challenge something I had said with 'What makes you think I can't?' Well, she was asleep - reason enough. But another realisation had just hit me; I had just taken at least another minute of my time thinking about one simple remark. Of all the times to be baffled! Mello talks crap more often than I play video games and I had never once pondered anything he had spoken of... ever.

The thought was quickly interrupted as my brief silence caused the sleeping girl to babble "I'm just kidding!" I could hear the desperation in her voice; she obviously didn't want me to leave "Of course I can keep a secret as simple as your name." Slightly slurring 'secret as simple.' How cute. "Heck, I'll even tell you my own true name in return, deal?"

"Your own true name?" I spoke the words slowly and softly, processing all the various meanings she could be referring to. Did she mean that as I would think of it or does she just usually go by a nickname?

Wait... did I just describe her as cute?

I need to force my train of thought back to the matter at hand... "I think," Mello is definitely going to complete the job that the meatheads I encountered earlier had left unfinished; especially if he finds out that I'm doing this, "you just might have a deal, kid."

"Awesome" was my reply. It was spoken quietly, maybe even being classed as a whisper. The girl produced a very soft, quick and subtle smile, if I wasn't so closely sat near her I would have completely missed it; I'm glad I didn't. My breathing hitched a little - not intentionally of course - though apparently audible to the girl in front of me as she raised a neat eyebrow before letting it drop again. "My name's Evelyn, but my last name will remain my own. I'm sure you can empathise"

The phrase 'Your name suits you' just decided to make sense to me. 'Little bird,' it suited her a lot, especially the way she looked at that moment; thin, white hands gently resting on her stomach where they had once been clenched in angst, facial expression peaceful and calm, no trace of the anguish that had previously taken hold of her delicate features... But that was only a side thought; the main part of my mind was going over the fact that she kept her surname to herself even though she had already told me of her first name. It seems that her reasoning is more like that of a Whammy resident than an ordinary teenage girl sprawled on the sofa.

"The name's Mail, but Matt is the name I go by."

"And I go by Effy." She spoke no more. The only movement I saw from her was a slight parting of the lips where she mouthed my name silently.

***********

"My neck's starting to feel a little cramped" She pouted and turned her head a little more towards me, subsequently moving the stray hairs from her check to the crook of her neck.

It's been 20 minutes since I started conversing with the somehow-still-sleeping girl, who's name I found to be Effy, we've been talking about everything and anything imaginable. What started off as names turned into family, which proceeded on to lifestyles, then going onto dreams and aspirations and finally landing onto recent humorous social outcomes. I've learned that Effy's favourite colour changes with her moods and is currently a rich green colour; her father was a lawyer and she thinks taking the piss out of Robert Pattinson's eyebrows whilst sat in the vicinity of obsessed fan girls is the funniest and most suicidal thing she's ever done.

I acquired all of this information whilst sat cross-legged in front of Effy's sleeping form between the sofa and the coffee table that I was now leaning my head against.

Not wanting her to get a neck ache, I offered her the only solution my currently Effy-filled brain could think of. "Hey, why don't I take you to your room? Your bed must be heck of a lot more comfy than that couch, and then you won't get neck pains in the morning. Sorted" Proud of my somewhat logical thought, I started grinning; not taking any notice of the little light that flickered through the room before suddenly vanishing.

"As weird as that sounds, you know - being taken to my bed by a guy who refuses tell me a thing about him - I believe it's a good idea."

'I believe'? The way she said it kind of reminded me of Near... Whoa! Near? Fuck! I forgot about Mello! He's going to have a proper sissy fit at me when I get back to the apartment.

Whilst cringing at the thought of Mello jumping up and down, stomping his feet, I slowly rose from my position on the floor. I bent over to put my arms around Effy; a hand at the base of her neck to support her head, and another under her thighs to take the weight of the rest of her body, which wasn't much.

I slowly made my way back through the hallway and started to ascend the stairs, poking each step with the tip of my boot to take note of which ones creaked under the slightest of weight. After a very thorough investigation of the staircase I reached the landing. Noticing a few art pieces on the wall in the room to the right of me, I automatically started walking towards the door of the said room, I was positive the room belonged to the girl in my arms.

_Side thought: she's in my arms_ 0_o.

Stepping just inside of the doorway I noticed a few more things occupying the space in the otherwise monk-like room. A bookcase to the left of the square room, packed with books and no spaces to spare, the order of the books looked to be ordered along the lines of; genres, authors, sizes and then alphabetically – excusing only the book sets.

The art pieces on the wall, that I noticed whilst at the top of the landing, were not well known pieces but instead homemade artwork with clear white material carelessly nailed to a jagged frame. Pardoning the sloppy DT work, the paintings and drawings that lay upon the many pieces of fabric were marvellous to say the least. The emotions that created the artwork were obviously spur of the moment, which explained the lack of caring for the framework, the paintings obviously needed to be done at the precise moment she felt the need to paint her feelings, and it didn't matter that the edges were all tattered - it had to be done.

At the top of the feature wall is a sketch of a family portrait with the faces of each individual all smudged and blurred – a deliberate act. According to Whammy's 101 in the psychological-excuse-for-anything-that-no-one-in-their-right-mind-would-give-a-rats'-ass-about, she must feel as if her family are no longer there for her emotionally and physically. Ouch.

I began to venture over to the bed in the centre of the room, beneath the paintings, just a conventional, white bed frame surrounding plain, black sheets that were currently occupying the surface of a comfy-looking, single mattress.

* * *

I decided to cut it there =) The rest'll seem better if it's from Effy's and Mello's point of view.

I am also very sorry for this taking me ages to upload... I also apologise to Rob Pattinson fans - It's just bloody funny to wind you guys up =D

Reeevviieewwww please

Oh, and it's pretty obvious i don't own Death Note, right?


	6. Mello 2

Mello

It took five whole minutes for me to spot a flash of red in a downstairs window of some house on the western side of the village known as Newtoft. It was impossible to tell what number the house was as my binoculars weren't all that focused and the sun was about to vanish over the horizon, leaving the full moon in its place. I adjusted my seating position so I was sat lotus style on the roof, the cold brick of the chimney right beside me for extra support. I put the binoculars back to my eyes so I could see what he was doing.

A porch light turned on at the house opposite my current spot which reflected off of the binoculars and sent a flash of small light right in front of Matt's view of the room. I shrank a little into the side of the chimney I was leaning against as if it would make a difference if he had looked out of the window. Though why I didn't want him to see me looking for him, I didn't know; I guess I'm just curious as to why he disappeared without a word and wound up on the floor in someone's living room talking to a... girl? Oh no, he didn't!

A man came out of the house with the currently switched on porch light, he couldn't see me but I gave him a bit of a death stare. I looked back into the house that Matt was currently standing up in. He reached towards the girl on the sofa and picked her up in his arms in a cradling sort of way. He looked down at the girl, comfortably nestled into his chest, and he smiled. It was brief but it was definitely a smile.

Oh, it seems he did.

Keeping my right hand on the binoculars to continue watching Matt slowly walk into the hallway about to go up the stairs, my left hand slid towards my belt where my Wesson PCC was tucked into my leather trousers. Boy is he going to pay for making me worry. I put the binoculars down to my right and threw a bit of a tantrum – here I was, on a roof, searching for my best friend thinking he was in danger of some sorts, and there he is, flirting with a female.

Wait, I don't have to shoot him to make me feel better, that's just... unfriendly. There are much better ways to make Matty squirm; mind fucking for instance. Oh how Matt hates to be mind fucked. I grinned at that, and I thought, _I'm allowed to be a bit revengeful - this is just piss-in-your-face annoying. _So throwing a little kid tantrum on the roof of a house wasn't exactly the most normal, grown up thing to do, but it was necessary, rather throw a fit than unnecessarily throw a punch... Or a bullet? See, I'm getting better at this 'anger management' thing.

I picked up the binoculars again to catch Matt finish tiptoeing up the last part of the stairs – just to find out that the room he was going into wasn't visually accessible from my position.

I turned myself around in order to back my way off of the roof to find a place on the other side of the house Matt was in so I could continue spying on him. The way down the front of the house was a lot easier to manage and a hell of a lot more graceful than the way up. My feet landed on the floor of the house's stone paved garden almost silently, excusing the fact I was wearing heavy leather boots.

I walked quite casually around the village this time, now knowing there's no reason to rush, also noticing more things about the current surroundings too. We only briefly looked at this village when first checking the place out, finding nothing unusual about the area; we skipped our observations and went straight to stalking the warehouse that held the majority of our attention. There seemed to be a common factor between the houses I was walking past: white picket fences. I'm not sure if there was some kind of group decision or whether it's just the current phase people are going through but those fences are probably whiter than Near's pyjamas. That's saying something. The houses themselves seem pretty well kept; paint isn't cracked or faded, gravel and lawns all level and neat with no weeds or garbage. You get the idea that it's like the whole village has OCD or something, though I wouldn't be surprised, I've seen worse.

I found myself a neat little side passage beside the semi-detached house that my red headed friend was currently occupying. The passageway of this house didn't follow the example of the rest of the village's houses; it was unkempt with a splash of the occasional bin bag for effect.

The back garden definitely matched the neat-freak criteria, not a petal or stone seemed to be out of place in this colourful and spacious grassy area. Though at the very back of the garden, behind the recently painted fence, was a large tree that overhung the graveled sitting region that created a cool shade for the occupants of the house to sit in. It was also perfect for climbing up.

As I made my way up to the highest but sturdiest branch in sight, I turned slightly to make sure the girl's room was definitely in view. What I wasn't expecting to see was the said girl reaching forwards, breaching Matt's personal space bubble, and placing a small kiss on his parted-in-shock lips.

That was surely the first time I've ever fallen out of a tree.

* * *

Don't worry, Mello's control doesn't last long =)

I'm really sorry this took so long to write and upload, my original went bye-bye so i had to write it all again.

Review and such, yeah?

Oh, and if you're a fan of Mortal Instruments and have read all the books, please take time to read my other story The Seed of Tsunak =) It's going to be mighty interesting.

Fanks all


	7. Effy 3

Effy

Matt hadn't spoken a word since he offered to take me to my room; the offer was innocent, of course. I know this because firstly, a dream (or figure of my imagination) can't move you from room to room. Secondly, my neck just really hurts from where I fell asleep and my pillows would be a nice comfort right now. It's just nice to know that my 'dream guy' would offer an impossible idea to make me feel... cared for? It's rare for me to feel such a way. From my mother taking vacations just to get away from me to my classmates purposely talking about how great their lives are whilst I'm in the vicinity, having someone just acknowledge I'm _there _is amazing enough.

Though only one person does acknowledge me, why she does is beyond me, so I call her my best friend. Can you call your only friend the best when there's no one else to compare them with? Tough, I do it anyway. She's the most popular girl in school, gets along with everyone and every male worth his balls is after her. Her name is Celeste, though everyone refers to her a C, and she lives on the opposite side of the village from me. We've been 'friends' since I started high school, it was the most random encounter I've had, but I'm glad it happened.

It was my first week at secondary school and I hadn't made a good impression with the rest of the kids (and this was when I cared the about things around me). My fourth day between my fourth and fifth periods at lunch was the worst and the last time I got bullied by the 'awesome' kids. I had just entered the lunch hall and I received a so-called slushy facial, I'm pretty sure I don't need to explain that one, and after holding back my tears at my hair and new outfit being ruined, it was the first time it happened so I tried to continue as though I though of it as a joke. But as I sat down at my regular table to eat, still covered in slushy, I had my chair rocked about and messed with while I tried to politely ignore my situation and eat my food. This obviously ended up with my cooked meal being thrown everywhere and I almost ended up hungry, if it wasn't for _her_. C couldn't stand the way I was being treated and slammed one of the chair rocking guys against the wall next to me and, after death glaring the facial guys, she took me to the nearest bathroom and gave me some spare clothes she had in her bag.

She also bought me more lunch. After that we hung out almost all the time.

My father was pleased to see me make a good friend that was willing to stand by me and, even now, when I hardly speak to her or even respond, she'll sit next to me and talk to me about the funny things I missed and how she wants to come over to mine and watch a movie as if I was the same person she had first met. She asked if I wanted her to stay over at mine whilst my mother was off on holiday, though I refused she still comes to see me at regular intervals during the week. I'll tell the world I don't want any company, and she'll be the only one left in this world that knows that I'm lying.

During the end of that train of thought I felt a small, almost unnoticeable pressure against my back, spreading over my body until I felt my head reach that same force. It was soft, but it was there, I came to the conclusion that my body must have slipped on the sofa and I was officially lying down flat on it now. I decided to see if my talking companion was still willing to talk to me. "Matt?" I called, more or less a whisper.

"Hey there, Ef, are you alright? How's your neck?" Of course he would be concerned for me first; as if a dream would act any different. 'He' even called me Ef; no one's really cared enough to give me a nickname before.

"M'good, my neck doesn't hurt as much anymore"

"Heh, that's why I put you on your bed, isn't it?" Chyeah, I was _totally_ laying on my bed right now. Right.

I was about to thank the current imaginary friend out of politeness when white and pink tinted surroundings turned to black once again. I screamed out of reflex but large hands pinned my arms and covered my mouth, I started to thrash as the grip holding me got tighter until my whole body jolted upwards and...

I was in my room? And in front of me was a shocked looking redhead with piercing green eyes, one of his hands were hovering just in front of my mouth whilst the other was held defensively in a karate-chop way.

"Please don't try ato hit me again," his left eyebrow raised as his hands slowly settled into his lap, "remember me? Matt? Me no hurty, 'Kay?" I closed my eyes and started to let out a breath I didn't realise I was holding.

"Yeah," I said as I breathed out, opening my eyes with a deeply apologetic expression on my face. "Sorry, I just got... got scared" I tried my hand at an embarrassed smile. After watching the redhead's face turn from cautious to relaxed, albeit half-amused, I noted he accepted my apology and relaxed myself. "You are...?"

"Matt silly," he spoke it softly but he grinned, ruining the intent, obviously more amused.

My jaw literally dropped. Matt laughed at my dumbfounded look and rolled onto his back (giggling) from where he had been perched at the side of my bed, slightly facing the window. All this time I thought he was just part of my imagination, that I finally managed to create to stop those horrible nightmares and perhaps give me some comfort for once while I slept. Apparently that was a dream in itself.

I frowned, brought my knees up to my chest and wrapped my arm around them, watching as my green-eyed visitor collected himself enough to sit up again and but not enough to stop laughing. "Sorry," he burst out, "I've just never actually witnessed a jaw drop so dramatically before." I grabbed the nearest pillow and threw it at him (actually aiming for his head but missing anyway).

"Not funny," I mumbled, more to myself than anything, but he heard. He leant forwards, face apologetic, and held my hands within his. His hands were warm in comforting way, not the clammy kind that make you want to shudder, and enclosed mine completely with a firm grip, not letting me try to move away. "I'm sorry, sincerely I am. I never meant for my jesting manner to be taken as anything other than a... well, a jest." His voice was just a soft as it was when he spoke to me in my dream. Can I still _call_ it a dream? Though there's no other word for it that I can currently think of, especially when those piercing green eyes of his are looking directly into mine. I looked down to our combined hands, wiggling a few of my fingers to distract myself. He moved back a little, hands still around mine, and his remorseful expression turned to that of concern at my lack of response.

I sat up a little more, now kneeling on my bed with Matt still watching me for a reaction. I leaned forward myself, slowly bringing my eyes up to look at his face, taking my left hand away from his and resting it on his cheek. Our eyes, finally making contact; his holding surprise and mine confusion, I had no idea what I was doing anymore.

So I kissed him.


	8. Matt 3

Matt

When I placed Effy on to the bed and found out that her neck hurt a little less. Her throwing a clenched fist towards my face was the last thing I expected after that. I caught her hand before she managed to slug me and pinned that hand, plus the other hand that threatened to thump me in response, down on the bed by her sides. Effy's body then started to thrash with increasing intensity so I tightened my grip a little more, enough to keep her still.

Apparently her whole body had other ideas than just lying there as her mouth opened to scream whilst her body flew upwards towards me. My hands lost control of hers as she sat upright and so I used mine to cover her mouth and try to protect myself from future flying fists at the same time.

Effy's eyes popped open after a short scream passed through her still open lips. She looked at me with utter shock, which was probably close to my reaction too, looked around her room in what I can only describe as disbelief and then her eyes focused on me again. "Please don't try to hit me again," I began hesitantly, lifting one of my eyebrows whilst studying her reaction. I settled my hands down on my lap when I realised she wasn't going to and noticed her, probably subconsciously, did the same with her own hands. "Remember me? Matt? Me no hurty, 'Kay?" She closed her eyes and let out a large sigh.

"Yeah," was my reply with the next exhale, eyes opening with an expression to indicate she was sorry. "Sorry, I just got... got scared" The apologetic look turned to embarrassment, making me relax a little more and I decided to give her a small smile to let her know she was forgiven.

Conversations are a lot easier with normal people, it's definitely better than whammy kids that try to work their brain voodoo on you every second they get.

"You are...?" she said carefully. Didn't I just remind her who I was?

"Matt silly," I tried to say it softly but the grin appeared anyway, ruining the attempt to keep her calm, too bad I was just way too amused to pass it off.

Effy's jaw dropped, leaving her mouth impossibly wide. To be fair, I couldn't just _not_ laugh at her while she looked like that, it was way too funny. So funny in fact, that I rolled backwards laughing, my back flush against the sheets with my legs dangling from the side. I think it took me a couple of minutes until I had enough composure to sit up, but unfortunately not enough to stop my laughter. I sat up to see Effy's reaction, still laughing, which wasn't good; she had her knees up to her chest and a scowl on her face, looking directly at me.

"Sorry," I choked out through the laughter that wouldn't cease to be, "I've just never actually witnessed a jaw drop so dramatically before." And that's something, considering I live with Mello and Near.

Apparently my apology wasn't going far with her as she lobbed the closest pillow to her at me. I leaned backwards to let it fly past me, I figured it was aimed for my head but that didn't mean I was going to let it happen. "Not funny," she mumbled almost inaudibly, but I heard. I automatically leaned towards her, holding her small hands inside mine, using a little force to affirm I didn't want her to back away.

"I'm sorry, sincerely I am. I never meant for my jesting manner to be taken as anything other than a... well, a jest." I spoke this softly, like when she was sleeping, in order to try and comfort her. I couldn't just waltz into someone's home and make them unhappy because they were unintentionally pulling silly faces. I looked at her directly, trying to make her understand that I really _was _sorry, but she looked down at the bed and wiggled a few of her fingers.

We sat like that until I couldn't bear it, I needed a response and she wasn't giving me one. I sat back a little, more concerned than apologetic now, but she looked up at me and followed my bodily actions; sitting on her knees and leaning forward so that she was at the same distance we were at before I moved. Her hand wriggled its way from my grasp and rested itself on my right cheek, she was looking me straight in the eye now and I was confused as Mello playing Mario Kart. She seemed surprised at my reaction (or maybe hers but I wasn't sure) and we held that for a few seconds more before she leaned in and kissed me unswervingly on the lips.

It wasn't exactly my first but it was my first with a girl, not that I'm gay or anything. Mello likes to play wrestle me a lot when he wants my attention away from my games when we're alone and I've played for over a day without stopping. We were right in front of the door this one time, facing away from it and with Mello on top of me about to pin me down for good, but that's when Near opened the door pushing Mello flat on me and we ended up kissing. Mels knew it was my first so he didn't back away and just followed it through for a few seconds before turning around to throttle Near. He's a friend like that.

Kissing Effy was nothing like that though, just as surprising, but her lips were softer and moved more gently against mine. That's when she pulled away from me and slapped me hard across the face with a disbelieving expression crossed with anger.

"Get out, you... you... you fricking pervert! Was this your plan? Your plan to make me confused and cared for so that I would want you just like that? Get. Out. Now." Her voice went from outraged shouting to growling by the time she went to one word sentencing. Of course that didn't help with the shock which wouldn't let me move, so I was just sat in front of her, wide-eyed with my mouth slightly parted and incredibly terrified of the small girl glaring at me with a suddenly fierce silence. To add to it, I think I just saw something outside falling from the tree but I dared not look and break eye contact with Effy.

Slowly I rose from my seating position on the bed, keeping our eyes locked and making no sudden movements as to not alarm her, and walked just as slowly backwards since I remembered exactly where the door was from where I was sat. My hand touched the door handle as Effy went to grab the pillow (that I put in front of me, and her, after she'd thrown it at me the first time) in the hopes of making it hit my face this time since I was moving slowly enough to make it happen. But of course I'm too awesome for that, and so I whipped round the door I had quickly opened, slammed it behind me and started bounding down the hallway as quick as I could manage, hearing the thump of the pillow hitting the wood. I was way too scared of facing the wrath of Effy again. Even though _she's_ the one that initiated the kiss and blamed _me_ for it, even though I had moved away from her to begin with! Bring back Kira any day; he was much easier to figure out the thought patterns of than _her. _

As I started towards the road at the opposite side of the village, I began to think of the thing in the tree rather than what was going on at the time I noticed it. Maybe I really should have paid more attention to it. _Sigh._ Hell, maybe I just don't care.

Damned people and their damned reactions to stuff that wasn't my fault. _All I wanted was to play Mario Kart,_ I mentally whined, letting out another heavy sigh.

I drove past our hidey-house a little and went to park around the corner when I noticed Mello's car was facing a different way than when I left. _Shit_, I thought, _he's been out looking for me_.

Running up the stairs but making sure there was no noise from doing so, I approached the main door in order to sneak in and pretend I was upstairs playing games the whole time I was overdue returning from my shift. I've done it before while I drove off in hopes to replace the chocolate I had eaten without permission before he noticed. I smiled a little at the memory but grimaced when I saw the upstairs light turn on. _Oh, please let that be Near._

I walked in through the now open door and went to peak in the living room to see the person I hoped was in the room above me. I cast a pleading look towards Near as he looked up at me, but the vacant look turned into an alarming grin. "Somebody went out to find and get Matt a little earlier on and returned with no Matt. Can you guess who it is and what his reaction may be at this moment?" Near said monotonously, albeit the grin.

This was an ideal face-palm moment.

That's when I heard rushing footsteps pounding down the staircase. I shut my eyes in reaction to the sound, this normally meant being tackled to the floor and shaken violently whilst being screamed at, but the only sound to come was a gasp and then "Matty?" in a slight whisper.

I turned towards my assumingly not-so-friendly-right-now friend, spinning a complete half turn on the spot. Wincing as he flew towards me, but I merely felt his arms embrace me and his head snuggle into the crook of my neck. "Oh Matty, you're home! I was so worried. Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you!" No tackling followed by violence came my way.

"Hey Mels," I began. Surely this would provoke rage inside him? Mello had always hated nicknames for himself. No reaction. "I got distracted by a video arcade on the way back." An obvious lie since there is no arcades around for miles, especially not in the area of Newtoft. Something negative had to come from this, Mello also hated me lying so blatantly. Two things to hate in one little excuse, then why hasn't he pulled his gun on me yet?

"Oh, okays." He replied, looking at me and squeezing me a little tighter in an almost affectionate way. "You probably should have text me though, would have been nice but not to worry!" He exclaimed at the end, letting me go but grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the kitchen. "Come on, Matt, don't look so scared. We're only going to fetch some of the cookies I made and then we'll go upstairs and play some games" Mello beamed at me when he took a look back whilst still navigating me to the kitchen,

He had made cookies for us. Were they going to make me ill? Was that his plan?

Going upstairs to play games. Had he replaced or done something to them? Were the consoles crashed in the anger that he wasn't showing me?

_I don't understand!_

_

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_

I am so sorry for the really long updates, I'm going to try and improve this so they'll be a lot sooner.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter guys :)

Oh, and discaimerage for the Death Note characters and such :)_  
_


	9. Mello 3

Mello

"Would Matty like another slice of cake?" Mello inquired in the most innocent and adorable tone that he could manage whilst simultaneously having an incredible reputation for anger issues and discourtesy. He had being acting this way for two weeks now and he could tell that Matt was getting more nervous by the minute. Unfortunately he had to give Near his gun to hide because Mello always went to reach for it when Matt came in the room.

It started off with unrelenting kindness and confectionary making, which had then progressed to selling Matt's games on ebay and then replacing them with the exact same game but newly bought from a shop and so had the 'new box smell' going on. The best thing was that Matt hadn't actually figured out what was going on with his games; he just assumed it was the location of the collection in the room and so moved them to different places around the flat every other day. Even Near joined in and distracted Matt while I moved the whole collection of games to the opposite side of the flat and then told him he'd done it the previous night. He couldn't not have believed me after Near appeared in the doorway and complied with the lie in his usual monotone voice.

We slowly drove dear Matty insane, and _boy_ it was fun.

"Err, no thanks Mel, you just convinced me to eat two pretty large pieces already and I think I'll pass on another for a little while." I pouted, feigning to be upset, though I really wanted the chocolate sponge with chocolate chips and chocolate icing loaded cake all to myself. "Well..." Matt started after seeing how upset I pretended to be, "Maybe just one more slice won't hurt." He smiled very faintly as he really didn't want another piece but I jumped on his lap and hugged him tightly.

I really just wanted to wrap my hands round his neck for calling me that ridiculous nickname again.

Matt ate the slice very slowly after I got out of his lap, acting as if to savour each bite to cover up how sick he probably felt at that point. _This_,I thought, _will teach you not to lie to me in future, but now it's time to end this because I want the rest of that cake._

"Hey Matty?" I started softly and my reply was an incredibly scared look from Matt's direction. I could feel Near enter the room behind me but his presence did not matter at this moment. "I'm done now," I told him in a firm, low voice, "so how about you tell me why you think I've been making your life impossible in the most obscure ways and then I can stop baking you ridiculously tasty foods that I'd rather devour myself without any of your help."

Apparently Matt hadn't finished eating the bite of cake he just took as he spat it out all over the cake I was planning on finishing._ I was planning on being easy on him, now I'm just pissed_. "I err... What I mean is... Sorry Mel, I just..."

_Mel?_

One hour and about ten bruises for Matt later, the story behind Matt's lie was admitted and he even made me a replica of the cake I couldn't eat thanks to his spit. Turns out what I saw was a misunderstanding and the girl, Effy, is a bit of a psycho when not unconscious albeit probably being misunderstood, herself. To be fair, I'd be confused and a little wierded out too if I woke up with a Matt in my room for no reason that I knew of.

"But that isn't fair!" I, I'll admit, whined like a kid. I wanted control of the case instead of watching things get past us when we especially don't know what we're looking for and lengthen our time here when we could be somewhere where there was much tastier chocolate to be consumed.

"This is because Mello is not rational in his thought process when wanting a case finished quickly. We need to find a way to observe the goings on inside of the building without forcefully penetrating its walls." Needless to say I was as red as Matt's hair at that point, and not because I couldn't go through with my plans.

Near said penetration.

Prodigy child or not, you can't not laugh at that word coming from Near's mouth.

"Care to repeat the plan for me?" I inquired with the straightest face I could keep hold of. Matt punched me in the arm in the most 'shut up' way he could manage without a) peeing himself laughing and b) earning another beating. Luckily I was too amused to care.

"Never mind what the plan is, it's happening. I agree with Near on this one, there are big, scary guys with weapons around that place and I'd rather not go charging in there guns a' blazing to be quite honest. You have to understand how close I was to getting killed; I don't want us to lose any of our number making reckless decisions because we're bored. It isn't worth it, Mello."

_Who cares anymore? Weren't you listening? Near actually just said penetration!_

"Yeah sure, go with it." My amusement had not passed so I stuck with it and went out to the kitchen to grab another piece of cake. As I left I did not fail to hear the relieved 'phew' Matt whispered in Near's direction.

When I came back from the kitchen we made plans on how to get cameras closer to the building without suspicion from the people hanging around there. If we could get a view through the windows, there would be more opportunity to find out what was happening within, but to do it and keep the camera hidden for a lengthy period of time would be difficult.

Difficult, but definitely not impossible.

"Hey, Mello?" Matt breathed through the earpiece. We had started the task of setting up cameras with better angles as our previous ones were utterly useless. Matt had taken the rear entrance where the larger windows were hidden by wild plant life, it was difficult seeing as some plants had stuck to the walls but if someone were inside and Matt wasn't careful, the person inside would discover us. I had given myself the objective to find the people that had chased Matt the other day and put tags on them so we can put together patterns with their movements as well as find out where they moved when different sets of people went inside the warehouse.

"What now, Matt?" This wasn't the first time he'd done this and his remarks were both unsuitable as well as a single-minded. He just did this because he thought Near wasn't around for the first time since he told us about the night he disappeared. But of course Near was listening, how else was he to know what we were doing and when we went about doing it.

"Do you reckon she'll go crazy again if I went to see her? Or maybe that isn't the best of ideas. I didn't want to scare her; maybe she'll forgive me for entering her house. Oh, but what if she thinks I'm some kind of creep now? Ah, I just don't know Mello, What do you think?"

"I think," I started. This had gone on long enough and i needed to concentrate, "that you should shut up before I put a bullet up your ass. I don't know about you, but I want this job over with and you constantly talking about that girl is getting on my nerves." As I whispered back, my voice gradually grew louder as I got more frustrated with the boy. It was almost at a normal speaking level but that was when I spotted on of the patrol rounding the corner. Perfect.

I ignored Matt's faint apology through the earpiece as I shifted forwards in my crouched position and pointed the firing device we constructed to get the tag on from a distance. My shot landed with exact precision as it landed on the man's belt underneath one of the loops.

You have no idea how sorry I am for the extra long time it took to update this! The year i've had, seriously.

But I am back and I'm going to try update as much as possible for you guys.

Also apologies for Mello's non creativeness for annoying Matt =P I couldn't think but if you guys have any ideas then he can go through a couple of "Oh, sorry Matt. I forgot i finished the whole pissing about with you and your stuff" phases =D

Disclaimer for the death not and it's characters

Until next time!


	10. Matt 4

Ah, I'm going to switch things up with the next two chapters so Matt's chapter comes before Effy's… It wasn't supposed to be that way but I wrote this chapter first by accident and then realised it was better this way. My bad

To the story!

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Matt

If Mello thought his acting skills were so amazing this past week then mine must have been Godlike. Did he really think I didn't know what the new game box smell was? If anything, Mello was doing me a favour as it meant the disks would now last longer so I could play them a hell of a lot more.

I believe the only downside to the past week was eating all that cake. I knew he hated me for it, but he made them continuously anyway. It must have been hard for him to restrain from beating me until the last day. I really shouldn't have stuck with the nickname, but it was fun while it lasted. Until the beating, that is.

I told Mello and Near all about Effy and how she confided in me, kissed me, and kicked me out. I realised that I probably knew more about her life and past than the two guys I've lived with for years. I could easily hack into Whammy's, I'd done it enough times for Mello to see if he was number one yet, but looking at his personal information would be an invasion of privacy and a ticket for a bullet in between the eyes.

The task to get a camera close to the building was far too easy, so I decided to distract Mello by talking about Effy. I had a surprise in store, and because I'm not allowed to lie to Mello anymore, I'd just have to distract him from the question with conversation.

Constant conversation.

I set up two extra cameras at the back entrance on either side of the exit door so no one could slip past without notice. If they got out undetected then we would know for sure there was another way to get out of the warehouse that we would then have to look for.

For the final camera that was my surprise, I tied it to a piece of rope and threw it expertly through a small opening at the top of a window that was very far up the wall. There was a sticky substance on the extra small camera opposite the lens that would dry as soon as it hit the wall. Once stuck, a light tug on the rope at a certain angle and it unravelled and was able to be pulled back without bringing the camera back with it. All the while whispering incessantly to Mello over the headset about different approaches i could use to talk to Effy again without getting things thrown at me this time.

And of course I made sure no one was inside while I did all this.

So, my plan to do extra work for the hope of fewer beatings was complete. I could have done it at the beginning of the case, but then how would I have exceeded that to please Mello when he became angry with me? I have a system for this shit.

I finished my side of the mission with plenty of time to spare, not that I was going to inform Mello of that. By telling Mello I'd finished would mean he would rush his own task and that could be incredibly dangerous. The plan was to wait until he had put the tags on whatever guards on patrol that he could see, give me the heads up and I'd be like "Yeah, I just finished up too" and all would be good.

Though, with Mello, things don't always go the way you hope.

"Okay Matt, I'm done with the tags. Have you done yet?" A little sooner than expected, but that makes my lie a little more believable.

"Sure Mello just finished. We can go back now? This sucks, plus I want to know what you think about me going to see Effy tomorrow." I really wanted to see her again, I'd heard too much about her that i knew so many people didn't know. I had to see her again. I had to tell her a censored version as to why I was in her house so late in the day. Most of all, I had to apologise.

"Liar, you finished the moment you started talking about your Sleeping Beauty. Do not even think of denying it either." Apparently my plan went through the window as easily as the rope, but he didn't sound angry.

"If it makes things better, I have a surprise for you when we get back" I was almost back at the car at this point and I could see Mello's head already at the driver's seat and ready to go by the way he was gripping the wheel.

As I approached the door I noticed Mello didn't look particularly annoyed, so I casually dropped myself in the passenger's seat with no fear of a scowl or head slap. Instead, I got a look full of curiosity, obviously eager to hear all about the surprise i had for him.

"Too bad, dude. You get anything 'til we get back to the apartment." He frowned but there was no argument, but a look of determination spread accross his face as he started up the engine and drove back in a well thought out pace that was faster than normal while at the same time trying not to seem too impatient to get back.

"No way!" was the reaction from Mello as the screen loaded up with a clear video image that showed the inside of the warehouse where two teens were currently in the middle of a very intimate… activity.

_Something tells me that's not the last time we're going to have to watch this kind of stuff. _I thought begrudgingly.

"Oh yeah. I thought it'd make you happier with me." There was no beating around it, he already knew.

"It worked; I am sincerely pleased with this. Why hadn't you done this earlier? Then you wouldn't have needed to go out on any patrols, you know." He had a point, I'll admit, but going all out for him straight away wouldn't have worked well for me.

"The equipment didn't arrive until the other night and if I had told you about it early on, you wouldn't have left me alone" A little lie, but he didn't need to know. A package was delivered a couple of nights ago, but it was a few accessories I had ordered for the PS3. "Plus, when it arrived, we were already planning to set more cameras around the warehouse anyway."

"Good work, Matt. This will most definitely increase our knowledge of the warehouse's use." Somehow, even though he was praising me, that deadpanned look and unchanging, monotine voice made the moment less enjoyable.

I realised that earlier Mello had said 'I am pleased with this' not 'you', so even though i'd been the key to their now inside knowledge, i still wasn't being recognised as a key person in this investigation in his eyes. Even Near acknowledged me more, and i wasn't _his_ best friend. _Well fine,_ Matt thought, _next time Mello wants good tech work, he's just going to have to wait longer for a breakthrough_.

Another realisation was that Mello hadn't answered any of my questions from the camera mission. I asked some of them again, especially the one about seeing her tomorrow.

"Just go visit her already!" Mello exclaimed so loud that it made me jump in surprise. "Who cares how she reacts, now would you shut the hell up or I will ram your head into a door! Dammit, I'm out of chocolate. Go out and get me some from the store, you ingrate!"

Bad call, but at least now I had to go to Effy's tomorrow or Mello'd be even more pissed. I suppose that was the main idea when I started bombarding him with questions. All so I couldn't chicken out when the time came.

But right now I needed to go buy a hell of a lot of chocolate to appease Mello.

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I know this is a pathetic excuse for a chapter, and i need a bit of a slap for not updating sooner. I only just got my notes in order and i feel so bad for it taking so long. Forgivesies?

I do not own DN, i wouldn't be writing fanfictions if i did.


	11. Author's Note

I am so sorry for the lack of updates recently :( I was on a proper creative roll and then BAM! I realised my notes for the story is in a notepad of my mum's... Who's in London... For a while... And won't look for them for me.

Plus seeing as I wrote them last year and I didn't need to look at them until now, I pretty much can't remember most of the stuff written... I don't want to improvise either, I have this all worked out (just on paper that I don't have).

So, so sorry!

I'll get it sorted as soon as possible. Promise :)


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